It's a sippery slope when it comes to baiting. You start out and progress:
- you use tree stands, camo and other hunting aids
- you use cover scents
- you use attractant scents like apple or acorn
- you hunt over crops
- you put out bait such as corn, apples etc.
- you plant food plots or fertilize oak trees

Once you start planting food plots and fertilizing food sources you're putting back more than you're extracting from the deer herd. It's comparable to Ducks Unlimited improving wetlands for waterfowl. When you bait you're putting out a food source but it's usually in smaller amounts and there is a greater ability to spread disease. Improving the environment by planting food plots, cover etc. helps all wildlife and will help to sustain deer hunting into the future.
Other baiting has been shown to have a minimal deer harvest increase over no baiting at all.

Dan O.